162 lines
7.5 KiB
Markdown
162 lines
7.5 KiB
Markdown
---
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layout: "docs"
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page_title: "Command: init"
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sidebar_current: "docs-commands-init"
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description: |-
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The `terraform init` command is used to initialize a Terraform configuration. This is the first command that should be run for any new or existing Terraform configuration. It is safe to run this command multiple times.
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---
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# Command: init
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The `terraform init` command is used to initialize a working directory
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containing Terraform configuration files. This is the first command that should
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be run after writing a new Terraform configuration or cloning an existing one
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from version control. It is safe to run this command multiple times.
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## Usage
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Usage: `terraform init [options] [DIR]`
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This command performs several different initialization steps in order to
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prepare a working directory for use. More details on these are in the
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sections below, but in most cases it is not necessary to worry about these
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individual steps.
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This command is always safe to run multiple times, to bring the working
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directory up to date with changes in the configuration. Though subsequent runs
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may give errors, this command will never delete your existing configuration or
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state.
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If no arguments are given, the configuration in the current working directory
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is initialized. It is recommended to run Terraform with the current working
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directory set to the root directory of the configuration, and omit the `DIR`
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argument.
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## General Options
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The following options apply to all of (or several of) the initialization steps:
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* `-input=true` Ask for input if necessary. If false, will error if
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input was required.
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* `-lock=false` Disable locking of state files during state-related operations.
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* `-lock-timeout=<duration>` Override the time Terraform will wait to acquire
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a state lock. The default is `0s` (zero seconds), which causes immediate
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failure if the lock is already held by another process.
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* `-no-color` Disable color codes in the command output.
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* `-upgrade` Opt to upgrade modules and plugins as part of their respective
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installation steps. See the sections below for more details.
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## Copy a Source Module
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By default, `terraform init` assumes that the working directory already
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contains a configuration and will attempt to initialize that configuration.
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Optionally, init can be run against an empty directory with the
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`-from-module=MODULE-SOURCE` option, in which case the given module will be
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copied into the target directory before any other initialization steps are
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run.
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This special mode of operation supports two use-cases:
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* Given a version control source, it can serve as a shorthand for checking out
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a configuration from version control and then initializing the work directory
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for it.
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* If the source refers to an _example_ configuration, it can be copied into
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a local directory to be used as a basis for a new configuration.
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For routine use it is recommended to check out configuration from version
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control separately, using the version control system's own commands. This way
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it is possible to pass extra flags to the version control system when necessary,
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and to perform other preparation steps (such as configuration generation, or
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activating credentials) before running `terraform init`.
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## Backend Initialization
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During init, the root configuration directory is consulted for
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[backend configuration](/docs/backends/config.html) and the chosen backend
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is initialized using the given configuration settings.
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Re-running init with an already-initalized backend will update the working
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directory to use the new backend settings. Depending on what changed, this
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may result in interactive prompts to confirm migration of workspace states.
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The `-force-copy` option suppresses these prompts and answers "yes" to the
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migration questions. The `-reconfigure` option disregards any existing
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configuration, preventing migration of any existing state.
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To skip backend configuration, use `-backend=false`. Note that some other init
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steps require an initialized backend, so it is recommended to use this flag only
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when the working directory was already previously initialized for a particular
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backend.
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The `-backend-config=...` option can be used for
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[partial backend configuration](/docs/backends/config.html#partial-configuration),
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in situations where the backend settings are dynamic or sensitive and so cannot
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be statically specified in the configuration file.
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## Child Module Installation
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During init, the configuration is searched for `module` blocks, and the source
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code for referenced [modules](/docs/modules/) is retrieved from the locations
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given in their `source` arguments.
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Re-running init with modules already installed will install the sources for
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any modules that were added to configuration since the last init, but will not
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change any already-installed modules. Use `-upgrade` to override this behavior,
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updating all modules to the latest available source code.
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To skip child module installation, use `-get=false`. Note that some other init
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steps can complete only when the module tree is complete, so it's recommended
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to use this flag only when the working directory was already previously
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initialized with its child modules.
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## Plugin Installation
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During init, the configuration is searched for both direct and indirect
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references to [providers](/docs/configuration/providers.html), and the plugins
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for the providers are retrieved from the plugin repository. The downloaded
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plugins are installed to a subdirectory of the working directory, and are thus
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local to that working directory.
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Re-running init with plugins already installed will install plugins only for
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any providers that were added to the configuration since the last init. Use
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`-upgrade` to additionally update already-installed plugins to the latest
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versions that comply with the version constraints given in configuration.
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To skip plugin installation, use `-get-plugins=false`.
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The automatic plugin installation behavior can be overridden by extracting
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the desired providers into a local directory and using the additional option
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`-plugin-dir=PATH`. When this option is specified, _only_ the given directory
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is consulted, which prevents Terraform from making requests to the plugin
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repository or looking for plugins in other local directories. Passing an empty
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string to `-plugin-dir` removes any previously recorded paths.
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Custom plugins can be used along with automatically installed plugins by
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placing them in `terraform.d/plugins/OS_ARCH/` inside the directory being
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initialized. Plugins found here will take precedence if they meet the required
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constraints in the configuration. The `init` command will continue to
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automatically download other plugins as needed.
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When plugins are automatically downloaded and installed, by default the
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contents are verified against an official HashiCorp release signature to
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ensure that they were not corrupted or tampered with during download. It is
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recommended to allow Terraform to make these checks, but if desired they may
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be disabled using the option `-verify-plugins=false`.
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## Running `terraform init` in automation
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For teams that use Terraform as a key part of a change management and
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deployment pipeline, it can be desirable to orchestrate Terraform runs in some
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sort of automation in order to ensure consistency between runs, and provide
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other interesting features such as integration with version control hooks.
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There are some special concerns when running `init` in such an environment,
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including optionally making plugins available locally to avoid repeated
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re-installation. For more information, see
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[`Running Terraform in Automation`](/guides/running-terraform-in-automation.html).
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